


Retuning

by ginnyred



Category: SKAM (Italy)
Genre: Apologies, Beaches, Canon Compliant, Conversations, Inspired by Fanfiction, M/M, Missing Scene, Post-Canon, Summer Vacation, Sunsets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-17
Updated: 2020-06-17
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:47:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24737908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ginnyred/pseuds/ginnyred
Summary: "Hey, can I steal you for a minute?"He actually says it. Out loud. In front of his friends too. His knees almost give out under him, his hands clenched into fists in his pockets, but his voice remains steady.He pretends not to see the way Rami disguises his grin with a fake cough and the meaningful look he and Driss exchange over Luai's head.To his credit, Luai doesn't even flinch.
Relationships: Martino Rametta & Luai Marrash, Niccolò Fares/Martino Rametta
Comments: 20
Kudos: 77





	Retuning

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was inspired by [if it holds you, embrace it](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24566692) by Fxckxxp, so you should read that one first if you haven't.
> 
> Thank you Sarah for saying yes to this! Hope you won't regret it lol.

"Hey, can I steal you for a minute?"

He actually says it. Out loud. In front of his friends too. His knees almost give out under him, his hands clenched into fists in his pockets, but his voice remains steady.

He pretends not to see the way Rami disguises his grin with a fake cough and the meaningful look he and Driss exchange over Luai's head.

To his credit, Luai doesn't even flinch.

"Sure."

He hops off the back of the van, brushing his shorts with his hands. He looks calm, like this is normal and expected. It annoys Marti a little bit, mainly because he's a bundle of nerves and he knows it shows.

"See you later," Luai tells the boys.

Marti watches him fistbump Driss and Rami in a complex pattern that speaks of years of practice. The implications make him uneasy, though he knows he's being unreasonable: he risks a glance at the porch, where he left Nico still asleep on the swing.

Where Gio and Luca are very unconvincingly playing cards on the steps, throwing unsubtle glances at him and Luai out of the corner of their eyes.

He tries not to roll his eyes.

"This way?" Marti asks Luai, only apparently a question, tilting his chin towards the beach. Luai nods and they start walking in silence, Marti half a step ahead.

They don't go very far.

He doesn't want Luai to think he doesn't want the others to see, like maybe he wants to throw hands again or God knows what. And he can't stand the silence for very long anyway.

He stops near the big rock at the far end of the beach and Luai helps him not make it too awkward by sitting down first. Marti lowers himself down more slowly, his back to the cabin, trying his best to look like someone who doesn't want to run.

A tense silence, a nervous look.

Marti clears his throat and reaches into his pocket. He's not sure offering Luai a joint will make things better but he does anyway.

"Do you...?" He watches Luai's eyes go wide, obviously taken aback, and he feels his cheeks heat up immediately. _Shit._ He takes it back. "Sorry. I didn't know if-"

"No, I'll have that." Luai looks up, still surprised but smiling now. "If you're still offering, that is."

" _Oh._ Oh, sure."

Marti hands him the joint and lights it for him as Luai holds it between two fingers. His cheeks are practically burning now.

With trembling fingers Marti lights one for himself too, hoping it will help him calm down. He doesn't miss the quick look Luai throws behind his back before taking the first drag.

The silence feels less heavy now, more settled, maybe because they have something to do. But Marti knows he's got to speak first.

"Thank you for, you know..." He gestures between them. "This."

Luai nods, and Marti sighs.

_Here we go._

"I wanted to say sorry," he says, slow and deliberate. "For being a jerk to you. And shoving you and... all that."

Luai half-smiles at that.

"You said sorry before," he points out. "And I said I accepted your apologies."

"Yeah, but then we didn't speak, like, ever. So it didn't work great."

Luai frowns.

"I didn't-"

"I wanted to say sorry without anyone forcing me to this time," Marti cuts him off, telling himself he might as well say it. It's not like he can make it worse. "Basically."

" _Oh._ " Luai raises his eyebrows, then snorts a laugh, shaking his head. "Okay, I accept your sincere apologies then." He smiles. "Who told you you should say sorry the first time?"

"Giovanni."

"Oh, so he's your Malik."

Luai glances back to the cabin. He smiles at Giovanni and Luca zig-zagging among the bocce on the ground, headed towards his van.

Rami's laugh reaches them loud and clear.

"I guess you could say that."

Marti knows Luai is going to ask. It makes his insides twist unpleasantly, but he tries to push down the feeling.

He takes another drag and waits.

"And... Nico?" Luai asks. It sounds casual enough, all things considered. Just another topic of conversation.

 _He's weirdly good at this_ , Marti can't help but think, with a hint of bitterness. _Hiding feelings._

Then he remembers why and feels ashamed.

"He told me what happened," Marti says slowly, looking down at his shoes. "After you came back too. But I fucked up so much he felt guilty just mentioning you, I think."

"I mean, it wasn't _all_ you," Luai concedes fairly. "It was a fucked up situation to begin with."

Marti snorts.

"Yeah, thank God I came along and fixed it, right?"

That catches Luai off-guard and startles a laugh out of him. Which soon turns into a cough as he accidentally inhales the smoke.

His eyes start to water and Marti pats his back tentatively and tries not to laugh at him.

He mostly fails.

When they make eye contact again, Marti biting his lip so he'll keep his mouth shut, Luai rolls his eyes and pretends to shove him on the shoulder.

"Shut up."

"I said nothing!"

Luai shakes his head, but he's smiling.

"I can see why he's into you."

Marti looks up at that, surprised and a little bit embarrassed – mainly pleased, though. By the warmth in Luai's voice too.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

Marti is dying to know – well, to hear it out loud, but Luai doesn't elaborate. Marti only waits for a bit, trying to look like he isn't, then lets it go. He can put his ego aside, he supposes.

There's something else he's curious about. That's fine to ask, he thinks.

"Is he different?" He exhales slowly. "Nico?"

Luai doesn't have to think about it.

"He looks happier," he says. A plain and simple fact. Marti feels his heart swell in his chest, his lips stretching into a smile. "Like he allows himself to rest sometimes. He didn't use to do that very often." Luai grins, knowing. "But always with the stupid Nokia."

Marti's smile gets crooked.

"I hear it's cool."

"Among dinosaurs? Sure."

They both laugh at that.

There is something deliberate in it, but not in a bad way. Like Marti is making an effort and Luai is recognising that.

Like they're both trying.

The thought makes him pause. He could have tried sooner, Marti tells himself, without waiting the very last day. He could have tried a lot of things sooner, actually. That way he might have spared Nico and himself a lot of pain.

Not that there's any point in lingering on it. Marti takes another drag, squinting at the setting sun.

He exhales.

He can feel Luai's gaze on him, measuring but not judging. Like he's retuning, Nico would say.

He doesn't mind the idea.

The moment is broken by a soft, wet sound. They're both startled by it: the slow squish of steps sinking in damp sand.

Luai freezes and tries to hide his joint behind his back, and Marti almost chokes on the smoke like an idiot as the intruder comes out from behind the rock.

A second, then Marti's frown smooths into a fond smile.

_Nico._

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading <3


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